A coalition of 18 marine conservation organizations accused Costa Rica before the Office of International Relations and Trade (IATC) of the National Fisheries Service (NMFS), in the United States, for apparent illegal fishing of endangered shark species. The organizations presented evidence that the country “is acting in violation” of at least two fishing conventions and US Public Law.
A negative opinion against Costa Rica in its next 2023 Biannual Report to the US Congress and that its condition as a country that periodically practices Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU) be maintained is what the organizations are asking for.
Despite the fact that Costa Rica had already been identified in the 2021 Biennial Report as a country that practices illegal fishing, nothing has been done to improve the situation, according to Randall Arauz, leader of the coalition and Political Director of Marine Watch International in Costa Rica.
Under greater threat than ever
“For some time now, Costa Rica has handed over the direction of fisheries policy to the sole interest of commercial fisheries, ignoring science and ignoring the public interest (…) Endangered shark species are under greater threat than ever in Costa Rican waters,” said Arauz.
Illegal capture of endangered species such as hammerheads, silky sharks and thresher sharks, as well as the illegal capture of swordfish without quota and overfishing of white marlin, would be part of the violations, according to the coalition.
A wake-up call
The negative opinion could be a wake-up call to Costa Rica to take corrective measures, according to Joe Ryan of Beyond the Sea.Prohibit directed and incidental fishing and the commercialization of shark species in danger of extinction, establish limits on the catch of sharks that are not in danger of extinction and implement a closure to longline fishing in the Costa Rican Pacific for six months, they are part of the demands of the organizations.
CREMA Association, MarViva Foundation, Operation Costa Rica, Preserve Planet and FundaciónPromar are part of the signatory organizations.This movement comes at a time when experts and organizations issued a series of questions against shrimp fishing studies carried out by the government, which could restore trawling, according to scientists.
